Automatic door operating and locking device



Dec. 10, 1929. c. R. TRIMBLE AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE Filed Dec. 13. 1928 IN VEN TOR 4 CURTIS R. TR/MBLE Patented Dec. 10, 1929 STAT CURTIS R. TRIMBLE, 01 L08 GELES, CALIFORNIA A'UTOMATIC DCOR OPERATING AND LOCKING- DEVICE Application filed. December 13, 1928. Serial No. 325,705.

This invention relates to an automatic door-operating and locking device adapted to be applied to garage doors of various designs, to cellar doors, to basement doors, to'bank vault doors, and possibly to other kinds of doors.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide anautomatic door-operating device which will be an improvement upon other devices of its class with respect to simplicity of construction, efficiency of operation and lowered cost of manufacture. i-

A further object of the invent-ion is to provide for the device a superior safety device to guard against applyingexcessive forceto the door when the path of movement of the door becomes accidentally obstructed by reason of an automobile or other object being inadvertently placed or allowed to remain in such a position that ample clearance is not provided for the operation of the door.

A still further object of the invention is to provide superior means for both manually and automatically controlling the operation of the electric switches which govern the movements of the device in the preferredembodiment of the invention.

. Other objects and advantages may hereinafter appear. o i y Referring in detail to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate what is at present deemed a preferred embodiment of the invention, I r V Figure 1 is a perspective view of the completedevice showing the same applied to a double door suitable for a garage. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in 1, parts being broken away and sectioned at the point of cleavage to show more clearly underlying parts.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a portion of the operating means takenon line 3-3 of Fig. 4. v

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a portion of one of the door-operating rails and means for actuating the same taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2. 1

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing one .of the door operating rails complete, and showing gear 30 which is mounted upon shaft 31, and

tion 32, which is common to sprocket wheels also a fragment of the operating means and of the other door-operating rail. f Fig. 6 is a vertical mid-section of a portion of the operating means showing a safety deviceapplied thereto. h

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the preferred means for supporting the motor, the motor andad jacent parts being also shown in this view.

Fig. 8 is a wiring diagram. Referring in detail to the drawings, to the door lintel or cross-piece 10 is bolted or otherwise secured a horizontal outwardly extending main supporting bracket 11 which supportsv a motor 12 desirably by means of a band 13 which extends around the casing of said motor. and is secured to said bracket by means of bolts 14. This motor, as will presently be described, is operatively connect ed with two cooperating door-operating arms 15 and 16 which are pivotally securedrespec- '70 tively to the cooperatingdoors 17 and 18 by means of brackets 19 and 20.

Each of said door-operating arms have theirmovements controlled by a guide frame, 25 designating the guide frame adjacent the arm 15. Said guide frame 25 desirably consists of two corresponding plates 26 which are-placed parallel in vertically spaced rela tion to each other, being held in such spaced relation partly by pins 27 and sleeves 27 The guide rails 15 and 16 are each composed of an angle iron shape and are substantially identical in construction. Describing the arm 15, well shown in Figs. 3 and 4, said armcomprises the horizontal or base flange 15 and a vertical flange 15, the lat-' ter flange having punched therethrough a series of equally spaced apertures 15 to perform the function of rack teeth. With the rack thus formed cooperates the sprocket which has a hub portion 32.

Through the tapered ends of plates 26 extends the shaft 31 upon which the hub por- 30 and 40, is mounted to rotate thereabout. Said shaft 31 cooperates with sleeves 27 already referred to which are positioned to maintain gears 30 and 40 in mesh respectively with racks 15 and 16, while at the same time .100

e armsin' case the movement o'f'the door'be allowing said racks and guide frame to oscillate about the shaft 31 to the extentrequired in opening and closing the doors 17 and 18.

The sprocket gear together with its hub portion is fixed to shaft 31, and there is also fixed to said hub portion 32 a gear {10, the latter gear being in mesh withthe other door operating arm 16; Said shaft 31 has fixed thereto a driving worm gear which, in turn, is driven by aworm 46, fixed-to themO-I tor shaft 47. Said shaft 31 is provided with an upper bearing 49, an intermediate bear ing and a lower bearing 51. 'llo said shaft 31 is fixed a bearing collar 52which' rests'rd tatably upon hearing 5Q to keep said shaft 31 from droppi-ng'below its operating position.

In order to safeguard "against" excessive force being appliedto the door-operating comes accidentally obstructed, a yieldi'ngiop erating connection"'is'provided between the motor and the door-operating'arms'. v

In Fig. 6 this connection issho'wn as com prising a bearingfs'leeve 55 having around one end a flange -55 andsecuredtothe' m0- tor shaft 47 by means of 'a' set screwi56l' Said sleeve 55 comprises a reduced portion 57 up'on which is mounted-the worm 456 which has already been referred to', said worm consisting of an externally toothed sleevei One end of said worm sleeve abuts'again'st said flange 55, and the other end; of' saidsleeveabuts against a spring'59 which is coiled around the body portion 57 offjbearingysleeve In the threaded portionof sleeve body 5-7 is provided a depressed face57 'over' which is fitted a lockwasher '60 -l1avinga'segrnental opening therethrough tojproyide a slida'ble but non-rotatable fit of, said washer thereon. Said-lockwasher 60 acts as a follower; under the action offan adjusting"nutf 58,to compress spring 59jagainst fiber washer62 which, in turn, applies {an amountof frict i'on to the end of worm sleeve 46 normally sufli cient to enable said worm sleeve "to transmit power sufiicient to open and close the doors. But whenexcessive pressurei's encountered w'orm sleeve 46- will not be forced to rotate and therefore will not" move thedoors Hand Lock nut 58* is provided tobear against adjusting nut 58c to holdthe latter nutin its adjusted position I v H The main brack'et'jll maybebracedagainst lateralor'other strains in anypreferred man} her; In the drawings ang1e-1ronjbraces'f'90 are 1 shown extendii'i'g' diag'on'allyl the free end of said bracket'to. the' lintel' 10f.

a In order to control fautomaticallygthej operation ofjthejfmotor 12, its wiring circuit is provided with a three -gangfswitch bo'x65 upon which are pivotally mount d the switch armsfiti andflti l. r

I k H p carriesnea-r its outer-end a trip arm 68'p'o's'itioned to trip the when the-"door reaches fully closedposiv.

the-garageorother out building where the V apparatus is located, while another manuallyoperableswitch"71 may be provided to afford operation from aremotepoint. V

Am'a'nually operable switch 75 isalso providdi'n orderto'make'it possible" to turn off the light 7 6 without afl'ectingthe motor 12.

An auxiliary safety 'device isprovided by inserting athermo-fuseplug 8O which'will automatically break the circuit when'more than a v predetermined maximum current passes throughthe apparatus for too long a time as might occur in. case the opening or closing i of' the doors was accidentally obstructed. V 1 V i 7 When trip arm'68 operatesswitch lever 66 it does three things 'i. c. it snaps" three switches A, B, and CL A'turns light 7 6011 and 011' as the three-wayswitch'is operated; B reversesthe'rotation ofv the motor for each successive" operation, this operation being the openingor' closing'of the doors;v 0 opens the circuit to the motor, Whenswitch70 is manually operated to close thedoors, thecircuit tQfth'e motor is closed as. indicated by the dottedlline's, thus starting' the closing movement of. the doors'which movement continues unti1interrupted automatica1ly by H I contact of averse with switch arm 67.

in the closed position, the 'operatorj closes switch/7O as indicated in the full' line's in the wiring diagram, thus. starting the motor.

The motor, through the agencyfof thexwormc sleeve'46,worni wheel45, and shaft 31 rotates hiih32 together with the sprocket wheels 30 and 40 secured to said hub. Said sprocketwhee1s, in"turn, move racks 15 and'16longitudinallythrou'gh a predetermined distance until trip arm 68 engages with switchlevr 66. By "thus tripping lever 66: the three switches AgB, and 'C are operated, switch A causing: lamp 76 to be energized, switch B placing the circuit in-readinessforreverse rotation of the motor, and switch C breaks 'the motor circuitstopp-ing themotor.

In order to close the doors from the posiated thus completing the circuit through, the motor again starting themotor, this time in the reverse direction of rotation and hence movement transmitting parts enumerated in the previous paragraphs are operated inthe tion to which they. were brought by the operation just described, switch 71 is again oper- I25 reversedirection until trip arm 69 actuates switch lever 67 restoring the parts to their original position.

In this specification, and the accompanying drawing, I have described and shown a preferred form of my invention and specifically mentioned certain of its more important objects. I do not limit myself to the forms disclosed, since various changes and adapta- 10 tions may be made therein, without departing from the essence of my invention as hereinafter claimed; and objects and advantages, other than those specifically mentioned, are included within its scope. I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a door, an arm attached to said door to open and close it, a rotary element engaging said arm to reciprocate it longitudinally, a second rotary element operatively related to the first recited rotary element, a core upon which said second rotary element is mounted with sufiicient frictional tightness to rotate normally therewith, means to adjust such frictional tightness, and means to rotate said core to open and close said door.

2. In a device of the class described, a sprocket wheel, a door-operatingarm meshing with said sprocket wheel for longitudinal reciprocation thereby, a door to which said arm is pivotally connected, a swinging guide frame to support said arm and allow it both to, reciprocate lengthwise and to swing, a shaft to which said sprocket wheel is fixed,

said shaft being located at the center of oscillation of said guide frame, anti-friction rollers mounted on said guide frame to hold said arm in mesh with said sprocket wheel, and means to rotate said shaft.

CURTIS RUSSEL TRIMBLE. 

